INTERVIEW: It was definitely a goal we deserved

We spoke to striker Jabo Ibehre ahead of training on Thursday morning about his goal at Doncaster.

"I was really pleased to get the goal," he said. "It’s fantastic that we kept the unbeaten run going and we don’t know when we’re beaten at the moment, which is good.

"It was a good delivery from Nicky [Adams] and I didn’t realise I was that far out until I saw the replay. I had a similar header against Cambridge, which I tried to put everything on, and the keeper made it look easy. I caught it well this time and with headed chances you’ve just got to keep trying. Thankfully it flew in for me.

"It was definitely a goal we deserved. We had the impetus in the last 15 or 20 minutes of the game and, if there was more time, we felt like we were the team who was going to score and go away with all three points.

"It was really nice to score at that end in front of our fans. Every time we got a corner or a long throw the fans were cheering us on, which was brilliant. To score so late on was good and the buzz in the dressing room afterwards was great, which lifted everyone.

"I was a bit bemused when I scored because I ran off - obviously over the moon - and I turned round and realised I was on my own. I thought maybe the rest of the lads were looking at an offside flag or something like that, but everyone just seemed to run in the opposite direction! I was just pleased to score and I ran over to the bench to acknowledge everyone as well."

On the performance overall, he said: "It isn’t an easy place to go. They’re a good team and we showed good resilience. At the end we seemed to have more energy and we kept going at them, which shows we’re a fit bunch. We’ll just keep going and hopefully keep enjoying it.

"The unbeaten run is something we want to hold on to now. Once you get to four games you start thinking about it, and when you get to nine you start thinking we’ve got something here. It’s something we want to keep doing because we do take pride in it.

"It’s giving us an extra edge and buzz. We’ve maybe got a bit more of a swagger about ourselves because we know we’re unbeaten. We’re getting better each game and getting fitter and stronger. We’ve got a fantastic squad and a great bunch of players with good attitudes. It’s a fun place to be."

United equalled a club record of ten games unbeaten with their draw on Tuesday night but Jabo insisted that it wasn't something that would get in the way of the important business at hand.

"I wasn’t aware that we equalled a club record on Tuesday," he told us. "Mark Gillespie is always up to date with that sort of thing, so I think he was aware of it. We won’t let that cloud us at all. We’ll just get on and try and do what the manager wants so we'll make sure we prepare ourselves right.

"The next couple of days are all about preparing for Colchester. It’s one of my old teams so hopefully we'll get a positive result. When I left my first club and first went back I found it really weird. Most people love that experience but I really didn’t, I was a bit in awe of it.

"I’ve done it a few times now so I just find it nice to see familiar faces when I go back to the old ground or when they come to see us. It’s nice to say hello to the staff who are still there because sometimes when you leave a team you never see those people again. That’s what I look forward to rather than playing against another team, because you always want to do well for yourself and your current team."

On his own form, he said: "I’m ready to kick on now. I’ve had a few niggles but I’m always confident in myself and in what I’ll do this season. Hopefully now I’ll just crack on and stay niggle free so I can perform and get some goals.

"I work hard on the training ground to make sure I can do what I can do. I know if I’m doing that right then I should be ok. If I’m not doing that right then I find myself on the bench and I'm disappointed. Basically I know if I do things right, which I am, I’ll be fine."

On his 100th league goal (according to the official stats, but which he insists wasn't actually his 100th league goal) he said: “My official goal stats are ten behind the goals I’ve actually scored, so the fact is I scored my 100th league goal at some point last season!

"You can’t always trust what you read on the internet. It’s one of those things which will hopefully get rectified eventually. As long as I know I’m not too bothered andit’s a nice achievement. Thanks for your efforts to bring it up anyway - even though you were ten goals late! I’m very grateful and happy to keep playing and enjoying it and hopefully I can keep getting more goals.”

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